


Coming Home

by mistresscurvy



Series: one fic a week [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Trope Inversion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-25
Updated: 2014-09-25
Packaged: 2018-02-18 18:57:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2358722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistresscurvy/pseuds/mistresscurvy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From the moment they met, Zayn made Liam feel safe, and like everything was going to be okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amazonziti](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amazonziti/gifts).



> This is a belated birthday present for my darling amazonziti. ilu bb <3
> 
> Thank you to harriet_vane for the cheerleading, oliviacirce for the beta, and lokte for the Britpick! All remaining mistakes are my own.

Liam knew he was a bit odd.

It was never that hard to figure out, really. Feeling like the odd man out only intensified after he was diagnosed as an omega, in a family full of betas on both sides stretching as far back as anyone remembered. Not that it was all bad, or anything. His dad was proud of him, saying it was just one more way he was exceptional, and his mum cried, but the happy tears that always made Liam tear up too.

That almost made up for being the only male omega in his class, and the way all of his friends took the piss out of him for it. It hadn’t felt very nice, if he was honest, but it was loads better than the way the blokes who weren't his friends treated him. It was fine.

And then he got put into a group on X Factor with two other omegas and an alpha and only one beta, and suddenly he was normal, for the first time in his life, and it was _brilliant._

At least, it was once he got used to being around Harry and Louis. Harry was everything that an omega should be, or so Liam’d always thought, effortlessly captivating and charismatic. Even Liam couldn't stop watching him, so he could only imagine what it was like for betas and especially for alphas. He got a bit warm whenever Harry's complete focus was on him, like the sun had suddenly decided to shine just for him for a moment. 

He didn't get a lot of Harry's undivided attention though, since most of his focus was centered on Louis. The two of them bonded instantly and easily, falling into the kind of friendship unmated omegas were supposed to form with each other. Liam felt a little envious, but Louis was more than he could deal with most of the time, anyway. If Harry could handle that sort of immaturity, better him than Liam. 

Liam had Niall, anyway, who didn't seem to mind him and needed someone to distract him when he got stage fright. Niall knew everyone and everyone knew him, but when he wanted a bit of quiet, Liam was always the person he could come to.

And whenever Liam needed a break, to feel like the world wasn’t pressing down on his shoulders, he had Zayn.

From the moment they met, Zayn made Liam feel safe, and like everything was going to be okay. He didn’t even have to speak; just looking at Zayn seemed to fix everything. Suddenly the pressure of succeeding on X Factor and figuring out how to be in a group didn’t seem so overwhelming. 

Liam didn’t understand how the others could just fall all over each other, limbs overlapping on the sofas backstage, but whenever Zayn said, “Come here,” to Liam, inviting him over with a lazy hand gesture, Liam went. There was nothing like tucking up underneath Zayn’s arm, his hand steady on Liam’s shoulder. 

The other lads noticed as well, of course; Louis shouted, “Zayn, come fix Liam, he’s driving me mad again,” about once a rehearsal on average. Zayn never seemed to think Liam was a bother like Louis did, though. 

Liam did worry a bit about what would happen once Zayn found his omega, how they might feel about Liam. He couldn’t imagine someone having a better alpha than Zayn; whoever Zayn’s mate would be, they’d have to be pretty special. During his darker moments he wondered how he would cope if it turned out to be Louis or Harry, how he could survive that. But he was determined to be a good friend. 

“Have you thought about what it might be like when you find your mate?” he asked Zayn one day. The two of them were curled up on a sofa, having a bit of a break while the other three were pranking Matt. 

Zayn’s hand, which had been stroking through Liam’s hair, stopped. “What?” Zayn asked. 

“Just, like,” Liam stammered, not at all sure why he had thought bringing it up was a good idea. “How things might change, or like. How they would feel about your friends.”

Zayn pulled away a bit, and Liam braced himself. “Liam,” he said softly, sounding so kind and gentle, caressing Liam’s name with his voice like no one else ever seemed to, and suddenly Liam couldn’t bear to be let down easily. 

“Never mind, it’s fine,” Liam said. “Obviously it’s fine. I’m just going to go find the other lads.” He hoped he could make a quick break for it, so he could fall apart in private, but Zayn tightened his grasp on him. 

“I thought I was being so obvious,” Zayn said, and Liam tried to remember if he’d noticed Zayn wooing someone. “And that you didn’t say anything because you didn’t want me to feel bad.”

“Feel bad about what?” Liam asked, totally baffled. 

Zayn ducked his head. “Not wanting me for a mate.”

Liam couldn’t have heard right. “Who wouldn’t want you for a mate?” he asked, trying and failing to imagine such a person. 

“You?” Zayn said hesitantly. 

Liam’s mouth dropped open. “But I can’t—I can’t be your mate. You’d have to find me irresistible, which I’m obviously _not_ —"

He stopped talking when Zayn closed the distance and kissed him, his mouth gentle and soft and perfect. Liam made a small sound and kissed him back, feeling everything in his brain slot together as he melted against Zayn. 

“I thought it was supposed to be more dramatic than that,” Liam said in a daze when they broke apart, his hands holding Zayn’s face as he stared into his eyes. 

Zayn shrugged. “I’m not much for drama,” he said, eyes flicking down to Liam’s mouth and back up, holding his gaze. 

Liam felt like his heart would burst. “Me either,” he said, smiling back helplessly when Zayn grinned at him. 

“Convenient, that,” Zayn said, his happiness quietly filling Liam’s chest. Feeling a bit brave, Liam leaned in for the next kiss, growing progressively more confident as Zayn held him close and let Liam take his time with each kiss and caress. 

Louis was predictably loud when he and Harry and Niall caught them still making out half an hour later. Typically, Harry looked a bit weepy with happiness, while Niall laughed. “That’ll get the papers all talking,” he said, squishing down onto the sofa between Liam and the arm.

“Excellent PR, boys,” Louis added, and Liam smiled. He couldn’t believe how lucky one person could be.

* * *

Liam had thought, now that he’d found his mate and everything, that he’d stop feeling so out of place. That wasn’t quite how things turned out.

Not that Zayn wasn’t wonderful. He was everything Liam could have dreamt of from a mate, if he’d ever allowed himself to imagine he could have that in real life. Zayn listened to him, and never made him feel foolish or dumb, even when Liam knew he was being a bit of an idiot. And he didn’t seem to mind it when Liam wanted to run everything; Zayn never got cross with him, even when Harry and Niall and Louis were all clearly done listening. 

Plus the sex was beyond what Liam had ever hoped for, Zayn taking care of him and looking at him like he was the only person in the world. It was soft and slow and sometimes silly, but always intense, no matter who did what. 

So Liam assumed that this was what all of these relationships were like in real life, no matter how the media might depict the dominant alpha taking charge of their submissive omega. Obviously that wasn’t the case at all. And then Louis met Eleanor, and Liam began to wonder again. 

Because something in Louis settled when he started dating Eleanor; he seemed calmer and more energised at the same time, like all of his disparate energy could focus now on one point. The difference was most apparent when Louis couldn’t see her for a few weeks because of their tour schedule. By the end of it, he was practically vibrating out of his skin, and there was no amount of pranks or recces Liam could do with him to change that. 

The morning after she joined them was always the same: Louis showed up in the early afternoon for his first cup of tea, loose-limbed and clear-eyed for the first time in ages, with bruises and other marks covering any bare patches of skin. Just like every good omega looked in terrible teen movies, when their alpha was particularly pleased with them. 

Liam thought about it off and on for the rest of Eleanor's visit, watching Louis covertly and considering. He wished he had another piece of first hand evidence, but Harry was still off swanning around with various people, none of whom felt quite right (“I’m Goldilocks!” Harry had announced quite solemnly the last time they were all high), and Niall had absolutely no time for any of this alpha-omega nonsense, preferring a shag when he could get one and not being bothered about it when he couldn’t. So Liam had to content himself with a careful observation of just Louis. 

Unfortunately, he was rather less subtle than he had thought. The day after Eleanor left tour, Louis plopped down next to him in the bus lounge and demanded, “So what are you fretting over?”

“What?” Liam asked weakly.

Louis poked him in the shoulder. “You’ve been staring at me for weeks with that furrowed-brow look on your face. I had a bet going with Harry about when you’d crack and finally tell me what’s up, but I’m bored of it now. So you should just tell me.” 

Liam thought about denying it for a moment, but then he realised that Louis would never let up. So he blurted out, “I don’t think I’m being a good omega for Zayn.”

Louis stared at him like he'd grown an extra head. “Has Zayn said something like that?” Louis asked slowly. 

Liam shook his head. 

“Okay. So why do you think that?” Louis continued, looking sceptical but still rubbing his thumb softly against Liam’s hand. 

He might as well go all in. “I mean. Eleanor tells you what to do, and holds you down, and gives you those, right?” Liam asked, gesturing at the marks on Louis’s collarbones. “Zayn doesn’t do any of that, and I don’t know why.”

“Do you want him to?” Louis asked slowly.

That hadn’t really occurred to Liam. “I guess?”

Louis frowned at him. “So like, Zayn never gets all," and Louis swung over until he was straddling Liam’s lap and grabbed Liam's wrists, pinning them up above his head, gripping hard and staring intently at Liam. It was like when they wrestled on stage, except Liam was pretty sure from Louis's expression that it was supposed to feel different. He shook his head.

"Huh," Louis said, releasing Liam's hands and sliding off his lap. "That's, like, my favourite thing, when Eleanor does that."

"There's nothing wrong with Zayn, just because he doesn't!" Liam said immediately.

Louis looked at him like he was crazy. Which only made sense, since Liam felt a little mad. "Mate, stand down. I know Zayn's fine. Never said he wasn't." Liam fidgeted with his fingers a bit, his knee jumping. He tried to stop, but the other leg just started going instead. It took Louis's hand on his knee to stop that one. "But there's nothing wrong with you, either."

"I know," Liam said, as firmly as he could manage, which wasn't very. Louis tended to yell if Liam disagreed with him on that sort of thing, though, so he tried his best.

Louis didn’t look fooled. “Then I don’t know why you’re worried about what kind of omega you’re being for Zayn. Since I'm fairly certain he's not secretly slagging you off to Niall."

"He would never," Liam said, trying to picture it and utterly failing.

"I know," Louis said impatiently.

"Even if he had reason to," Liam added.

“Liam,” Louis said warningly, and Liam held up his hands. 

“I’ll ask him, okay? He’ll tell me what he wants,” Liam said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. 

He was fairly certain Louis could tell, because he sighed loudly and pulled him in for a cuddle. “I’m sure he will.”

* * *

Liam made himself talk to Zayn that night, because otherwise he wouldn't go through with it. He felt jumpy and out of sorts for the whole evening; even Zayn’s hand gently resting on the back of his neck during dinner wasn't enough to soothe him. By the time they got to their hotel room, Liam was certain Zayn was going to tell him he was breaking the bond, because no one wanted an omega who was so high strung and tense all the time. Liam was dreading it so much it would almost be a relief just to hear it.

But Zayn pulled him onto the bed and held him close, instead, his strong hands stroking up and down Liam's back, and Liam let him. Surely he couldn't be blamed for enjoying this while he still could. 

"You going to tell me what's eating you alive?" Zayn finally murmured, and Liam sighed. Best to get it over with. 

"I've been thinking about the kind of omega you deserve," Liam said into Zayn's chest. "And how I don't know how to be that. So like. If I’m not the omega you want, I would understand.”

Zayn’s hands stilled on his back. Liam waited for Zayn to disentangle himself (he would do it so kindly, like he did everything), but Zayn didn’t move at all. The wait was killing him. Finally, Liam had to say, “Zayn—"

“Babe, what are you talking about?” Zayn asked, sounding totally bewildered. 

Liam shook his head against Zayn's chest. “You don’t have to pretend, I know it’s true.”

“Can you look at me?” Zayn asked, tugging Liam up, his hands resting softly on Liam’s cheeks. Liam huffed and made eye contact, getting lost for a second in the depth of Zayn’s eyes, the concern shining there. “Why are you going on about being the omega I deserve?”

Liam shrugged, wanting to look away, but Zayn’s hands held him steady. “Just, a proper omega should be obedient and quiet and not make any fuss or want to do anything, you know?”

“When have I ever said I want that?” Zayn asked, but Liam wasn’t done yet. 

“And I don’t know how to be that. I just want to, like, plan things, and buy you nice clothes and take you places and listen to you talk about art things, and take care of you," Liam said finally, in despair. "And that's not right at _all._ "

"Who says?" Zayn asked.

Well, no one had _said_ it, exactly, but that didn't make it not true. "I mean, Louis and Eleanor—"

"Has Louis been telling you there's something wrong with you?" Zayn interrupted him, looking fierce. "Because if he has, you can tell him to fuck right off."

Liam shook his head. "No, he thinks I'm being an idiot," Liam admitted. 

"You're not an idiot," Zayn said immediately. "Just maybe worrying about stuff you don't have to."

“See, I’m doing it all wrong, omegas aren’t supposed to be concerned about anything,” Liam said. 

“You’re not some brainless pet just because you’re an omega,” Zayn said. “And anyone who wants that is a crap alpha. Do you really think Louis does what Eleanor says because he’s suddenly got no opinions and can’t think for himself?”

Liam hadn’t thought about it that way. “I guess not.”

“That works for them because it’s about the two of them, not because that’s the only way to be,” Zayn said. He looked a bit upset. “To be honest, I find the whole idea of the dominating alpha to be a bit creepy. So demanding and controlling and awful. I never wanted to be like that.”

“You could never,” Liam said, leaning in to kiss him. “You’re the perfect alpha.”

“Don’t know why you thought I’d want you to be like that kind of omega, then,” Zayn said, sounding a bit grumpy. It was so normal it made Liam relax even more; he knew what to do for a grumpy Zayn. 

Liam tugged him closer, getting his hands up in Zayn’s hair and scratching his scalp. Zayn’s eyes fell half-closed, and Liam kissed him again. “You know how I get caught up in shit.”

“Don’t read the crap people write about us,” Zayn said. 

“I won’t,” Liam promised. He would try his best. 

“And if something isn’t working for me, I’ll tell you,” Zayn continued. “And you tell me the same, okay? It’s not just about me.”

“Okay,” Liam said. He kept carding his hands through Zayn’s hair, because he wanted to, and apparently that was okay. 

“Was there something in particular that made you think about this?” Zayn asked, his eyes barely open as he moved with Liam’s hands.

Liam shrugged. “Just, you know how Louis looks after Eleanor’s left. And then he asked if you ever pin my wrists, and I said no, and I don’t know. I get worried.”

“Do you want me to pin you?” Zayn asked, suddenly looking a bit more awake. 

“It didn’t do much for me when Louis tried it,” Liam said. 

Zayn reached up and caught Liam's wrists, keeping eye contact as he lifted Liam's hands away from his hair and pinned them above Liam's head. Liam's heart sped up as he felt the strength in Zayn's hands, and his hips lifted involuntarily up against Zayn's.

“Feels a bit different when you do it,” Liam said weakly, his voice dry. His dick swelled up in his pants when Zayn grinned down at him. 

“I’d hope so,” Zayn said, looking so beautiful and pleased that Liam was desperate to kiss him. But he was caught in Zayn’s grasp. “You know, you can still take me shopping and make me tea in the morning, even if I hold you down occasionally.”

“Deal,” Liam said desperately, and Zayn laughed and finally, finally kissed him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/mistresscurvy) | [tumblr](http://mistresscurvy.tumblr.com/)


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